I recently took a leave of absence from Blizzard to visit my sister in Wellington, New Zealand.  During our visit together to the South Island, we made a stop in Christchurch, where we stayed at the Hotel So.  Opening in 2007, the designer hotel is a recent addition to the city’s myriad of accommodation choices.  They market themselves toward a younger, style (yet budget) conscious crowd, mainly composed of 20 and 30-something adventurers, as well as some business travelers.  The overall feel of the hotel is modern and chic, with minimal yet appealing interior design.  The bar serves designer martinis; the café menu is eclectic and trendy. 

The thing that grabbed my attention the most about this hot spot was their branding strategy.  Every detail of the hotel was considered in the planning of the business; all elements communicated with each other visually.  From the logo to the wallpaper, right down to the tea bags and chocolates, everything matched perfectly.  Simply said, it’s a designer’s paradise, and I fell in love immediately.  If their marketing team hasn’t won an award for this place yet, it’s about time they did!

When I returned to the states in March, I hadn’t checked out the Hotel So website yet, so when I finally did I was pleased to see that their website carried the same stunning brand identity that the hotel did.  Not only did the professional photography sweep me right back across the Pacific Ocean, but the graphic elements of the site reminded me of how carefully their designers made the place a cohesive whole.  The same unusual color combinations of brownish taupe and various pastel colors (which are all very fashionable combinations right now) that I found throughout the hotel itself, were now echoed on my computer screen. 

So what’s so important about creating a brand identity for your property?  Well, there are lots of reasons.  For starters, if you create a lasting impression on your customers, they will become repeat customers.  There is no doubt that if I were to find myself in Christchurch again, I would make a point of staying at the Hotel So.  Since my sister and I stayed in a variety of hotels and hostels all over New Zealand, many of them blur together in my memory.  However, this place was an experience in itself, and I won’t soon forget it. 

The AVS Group, a web services company in Wisconsin, explains another reason that branding is so important. “Brand identity commands a price-premium. Why is someone willing to pay thousands of dollars more for a Lexus than for a Toyota? They are virtually the same product with the exception of some additional options and accessories…the value proposition is wrapped around the brand. The Lexus…[is] worth more in the minds of consumers regardless of whether the product actually functions better.” According to an article by Lara Appelhans at INeedHits.com, “building your brand will create credibility, implies trustworthiness, and should make your business name synonymous with the product or service that you sell.”

When it’s time to start establishing your brand, make sure your design is consistent online and offline.  You and your designer(s) should work together to establish a standard of typefaces, layouts and color palettes.  If your outdoor signage is designed in the font Soho Gothic, carry that font over to your website and use it on some of your buttons (remember though that for many areas of a website, such as the copy, you will need to stick to web-safe fonts).  If the color of the walls in most of your rooms is hunter green, try using a similar color in your website design. 

One of the design elements that we see on the Hotel So website is the repeated abstract line pattern at the bottom of the screen:

Although not identical, it is very similar the line pattern found on the wood panels and comforters found in every room:

To the non-designer, details such as repeating lines may seem trivial.  However, when several of these small details tie together, it can create a visual theme that wows the consumer.  Next time you order new comforters for your beds, or new packaging for in-room amenities - think about the “style” you’re conveying with your property and with your website.  Sometimes making a few simple purchase decisions can go a long way towards giving your guests the experience today’s traveler is craving. 

 The negative review - every online business owners heart-thumping, middle-of-the-night, cold-sweat-inducing nightmare.  Okay maybe not that bad, but to be honest hearing anything negative about your business tends to set one on edge, I know it does me and that’s usually on my clients’ behalf, not my own!

I thought a few tips on handling a negative review in the online space would be handy to all of our readers.  I find that most owners are reluctant to say anything back to negative reviews.  The thing is - the negative reviewer is YEARNING for you to get involved, to tell them you’re “really sorry” and you hope they’ll “try again”. 

Not only is the negative reviewer looking for that - the future shopper that reads that review is looking for the interaction and the reassurance that you’ve fixed the problem.  If you don’t tell them you have fixed it - how will they know?

My number one rule for managing a negative review?  Fix it or nobody will forget it!  If it’s broken, fix it.  If it’s shabby, replace it.  If an employee is rude (on a consistent and repeated basis,) replace them.

DO’s:

• Acknowledge the problem, give out your personal email address and invite the reviewer to contact you directly to address their concerns.  Let the others that read that review know you’re willing to do whatever it takes to “make it right.” 
• Use the negative review as a tool to educatefuture shoppers.  If someone is upset because the vacation rental didn’t house 8 people comfortably - take the opportinity to respond, apologize for their inconvenience, and remind them that the house was only rated to fit 4 comfortably.

Andy Beal - blogger at MarketingPilgrim.com, author of Radically Transparent: Monitoring and Managing Reputations Online, and founder of Trackur.com talked about a great example of managing reviews in his recent article:  Advice for Managing Negative Reviews of Hotels or Small Businesses.  ResortQuest Waikiki thanks EVERY reviewer for leaving a review and responds to negative aspects of any review with a personal message.

I’ve got my copy of Beal’s book on order,  I’ll be posting a book review when I’m finished with it!

Don’ts:

• Ignore it. Like most things in life, ignoring the problem doesn’t make it go away. Dig in and get it fixed - then let others know it has been fixed.

• Be Antagonistic.  Nothing looks worse than an owner attacking a guest for a less than accurate complaint.  You aren’t going to change their mind by attacking them.  Instead apologize and let them know you don’t do business that way and maybe point out the 10 other positive reviews to the readers of your response.

 Think about negative reviews as an opportunity to engage your audience, to show them how much you care about their vacation, trip or getaway.  Without that interaction, your online presence is pretty 1.0 - and 1.0 is about 4-years ago.  Move into Web 2.0 & 3.0 by striking up a conversation online.

The business models seem to go hand in hand on the surface. Realtors usually have the skinny on vacation property for sale and can represent the owners in sales and rental situations fairly easily. This makes it easy for owners that live out of state.

The problem comes when those Realtors combine their real estate website with a vacation rental website. From a marketing and usability standpoint, this is a scary combination. The two business models are entirely different, although loosely related, and combining them creates problems with your marketing efforts - and with the visitor that’s landing on your website looking for a relaxing vacation with the kids.

Usability

• For a web site user, combining two different business models can muddy the waters and they’re never sure which part of the site they’re looking at.
• Your potential vacation rental clients are sometimes unsure when they hit a realty site if you have “vacation rentals” or “monthly rentals.” Sites that have both are especially confusing.
• You’ve probably implemented at least two forms of navigation to separate sales from vacation rentals. This can add unneeded confusion to your site as the visitor isn’t really sure where they are and the navigation is no help.
• There is a perception that a vacation rental that is tied to a realty website is for timeshares, and you’re inevitably going to be sold something you don’t want.
• Branding is doubly difficult. Is your URL MyRealty.com. That isn’t very vacation rental friendly. Wouldn’t you rather be able to promote a url that says what you are such as MyVacationRentals.com?

Marketing

• The content on a site is a factor to good search engine rankings. When content addresses two different markets – the search engines might rank a site lower than they would if the content was focused on one industry. If they don’t have the “trust” in what they’re spidering, they may not consider that content authoritative – resulting in lower rankings.
• Link-building should be accomplished carefully, with relevant and supportive websites and directories. A site that is relevant to your real estate sales is not relevant to a vacation rental program. This means that links from a real estate site are unlikely to help vacation rental pages rank well. By separating content and linkbuilding to two separate websites, your links are going to count more, and be more likely to help you rank in a higher position.

The Problem:
In the past real estate websites had a tendency to participate in vast link exchanges. The example below is a site that breaks all of my rules.

I’m not going to “out” them because that’s not nice, but I will point out some issues that they’re having and that can be corrected, but it will take time and separation.

• Their URL has “Realty” in it
• They combine both sales and rentals on one site

They have a link on their homepage that says “North Carolina Vacation Resources.” This links to a link exchange form and a page that features links from all over the world. Their link text pointing TO this page is misleading – and the content on the site is irrelevant to vacation rentals…and probably most of the links are irrelevant to Outer Banks Home Sales

The Consequences:

1. They’re buying Paid Ads in the top 5 position – pretty expensive for terms like “Outer Banks Vacation Rentals”
2. They don’t rank organically in the top 100
3. They’ve got over 100 “link exchanges” going on – but Google is only giving them credit for 7 links back to their site – pretty big waste of time and space.
4. The user has to choose immediately from a menu when they hit the homepage – sales or rentals. No matter which way they go – the look & feel of the site changes. The visitor is confused and not sure they’re even on the same website.

There are instances when the two have combined, and it can work pretty well, but I always advise clients to consider separating their offerings. Integrating booking engines and MLS pages can be much easier when you don’t have to worry about how one is going to affect the other.

If you can’t separate your sites - the lesson here is to stop participating in irrelevant link exchanges. They don’t work very well. You CAN exchange links with relevant area businesses that add value to the readers, but not with real estate sites in cities and towns your shoppers are highly unlikely to even care about. The proof is in the Google Back Links of the example above. They require a link back to their site - but Google is giving them NO credit for those backlinks.

On Monday, April 8, 2008, Bobby Bowers with Smith Travel Research (STR)  presented to an enrapt audience as a keynote speaker at the HSMAI’s Travel Internet Marketing Strategy Conference. His topic: “The U.S. Lodging Industry … What’s Next?”  Bowers shared some interesting travel statistics and his insight (and foresight) with the attendees. Data specific to your region, as well as global statistics, is available in your STAR Report or by subscribing to their services.

Nationally, leisure travel is down and may continue decreasing due to rising transportation costs.  Hotels that cater to the corporate crowd, however, have escaped the downward trend nearly unscathed.  Corporate travel has remained steady as businesses continue to be reluctant to pull in the reigns.  Luxury travel should also continue to thrive as they have the discretionary funds to offset the rising costs of travel.

International travel is also an area that has the potential to remain vibrant during this period of rising costs.  According to Bowers, the international visitor enjoys an economic advantage when visiting the states.  In fact, the USA has become a bargain for them!  We are already seeing an increase in visits as touring America has become a viable economical alternative.  Take advantage of the opportunities Search Engines provide for advertising to the international market.

A slower growth in demand often accompanies a slower economic environment.  Supply growth remains high as much of the building was planned before the implications of fuel and travel costs became evident.  Supply growth, therefore, is expected to remain healthy, but demand may very well decrease as travelers choose to stay closer to home.  This is where dual-use properties may have an advantage.  Providing and advertising both long and short term options can give hoteliers an advantage over their competitors with more shortsighted perspectives.

Bowers recommends utilizing analytics to discover hidden opportunities and to focus on the marketing opportunities that are currently working.  Analytics can also help predict areas in advertising that may become valuable in the future.  Rather than allowing current conditions to force them into a more conservative approach, many attendees agreed this is an excellent time to become more aggressive.

Take a close look at the data you have available. One of the tremendous advantages of online marketing is the ease and detail with which it can be tracked.  Bring in an expert if you’re not confident in effectively analyzing the data yourself.  Be prepared to make adjustments directly based upon the findings.  Be creative in your solutions; reacting quickly and effectively will be imperative in this changing economic time.

Saw a great post today from Andy Beal over at Marketing Pilgrim wherein he talks about what exactly you should be monitoring online in relation to reputation management. This post is a must read and really drives home the different avenues in which online reputation can hurt (or help) you.

A few of his most important 10 points are:

1. Your Hotel Name

2. Your Legacy Hotel Names (were you rebranded recently?)

3. Your Restaurants

4. Your Hotel Manager

I highly recommend checking out this post, thinking about it, linking to it and getting your staff to read it.

A post over at HotelMarketing.com has shared the “HitWise Monthly Category Report” for the Travel sector with statistics taken during March ‘08. I found some interesting data and graphics there and thought I’d share them with you. If you want to download your own copy you can do so here.

They showed the Trends of visits to travel websites over the last year and as you can imagine - there was a decided dip during the holidays. What really astounded me was the gain over March of ‘07. In March of 2008 we saw a peak market share of 2.2% - wherein March ‘07 saw a peak of about 1.95% - that’s a pretty significant gain - especially when there is talk of a recession moving around. It’s apparent that people are even more interested in traveling NOW than they may have been last year at this time.

Graphic courtesy Hitwise.com

A special shout out to my friend John Ellis over at ResortQuest.com - their ResortQuestDelaware.com site made the Hitwise fast movers list for March!

Like it or not, the baby boomer generation really is the like the pig in the python – a huge mass inexorably moving through our society that cannot be ignored or denied. We have demanded attention and resources since our dads returned from World War II and started making babies like crazy and we will continue to dominate American society well into the 2040’s or 2050’s.

76 million American children were born between 1945 and 1964. The oldest Boomers, at 63, are rapidly approaching retirement age. Many are retiring early or are already working only part time. The youngest Boomers are about 44 and quite a few still have children living with them.

As a group, we are both powerful and affluent and exert immense influence on the worlds of politics and business. In our collective trip through time, our sheer numbers have affected everything along the way.

The Boomers travel more than any previous generation and will continue to do so. How are we affecting your travel or hospitality business now and how will we affect into the future? Here are some things I suggest you think about.

Website Usability
We are online and we are buying online, so make your website Boomer friendly. Consider its usability. Use font we can read without straining our eyes. Make your navigation intuitive and uncomplicated. Make your online booking process simple and forgiving. If your website frustrates us, we’ll just move on and buy from someone else.

Safety
Although we hate to admit it, the first wave of Boomers is feeling their age. We have aches and pains and malfunctioning parts. We know we take a long time to heal, so we’re more careful than we used to be. Give us easily-negotiated stairs with handrails and don’t forget to put safety rails in the showers. Keep your walkways clear of ice and snow. Light your public areas well. Remove hazards and make us feel physically safe and we’ll tell our friends.

Comfort
Boomers are a self-indulgent bunch. We’ve had our noses to the grindstone most of our lives and we don’t feel guilty about enjoying some of the rewards we felt we’ve earned. We want cushy, comfy beds and deep whirlpool tubs. Don’t scrimp with cheap toilet paper. Don’t give us scratchy towels. We’re the ones who’ll notice the frayed carpets and touch of mildew in the tub, so keep everything updated and sparkling clean. Make us feel pampered and we’ll be back.

Work Space
Most of us still work, so make it easy for us to work while we’re staying with you. Give us high speed wireless internet access. We prefer that we can at least perceive it as being free, even if it’s really not. Give us a useable desk, an ergonomic chair, a good light and plenty of electrical outlets – we have cell phones and PDAs and iPods that all need to be kept charged. (Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were both born in 1955.) Then, the next time our partner needs a getaway and we need to take care of business, we’ll know where to go to get both.

Peace and Quiet
Some boomers are empty nesters. We travel in ones and twos and want things relatively quiet and peaceful. Don’t put us on the same floor as the spring break crowd or the high school band on a field trip. Don’t give us the room overlooking the pool or above the lounge. We won’t be happy about it and we will tell others about the experience.

Extended Families
We are also the sandwich generation, with many of us taking care of both our kids and our parents. When we vacation, they often accompany us. Make your activities and facilities appealing to all the people we’re trying to keep happy and you’ll make us happy, too.

Perceptions
Even though we’re getting old – okay, some of us already are old – we don’t want to admit it or be treated that way. Be polite, but please don’t call me ma’am. Ask me if I want a bellman to take my bags up, not if I need one.

I know you have to deal with a lot of old farts - the folks who are grumpy and demanding all the time. I apologize in advance for their behavior. I hate it, too. But we’re not all like that any more than all young people are loud and rude.

Baby Boomers will exert an immense influence on the hospitality and travel industries for at least the next 20 years and those who best adapt to their needs and wants will reap the rewards of a generation of frequent and affluent travelers. If you plan for our comfort and satisfaction when we stay with you, we’ll be back, we’ll tell our friends and we may even write a couple of good reviews about you.

Upper photo from thinkpanama
Lower photo from docman